RomanPunks is a retrofuturistic, cyberpunk derivative world-building project inspired by fine art, history and the cryptopunk movement.
A total of 1,000 RomanPunk characters have been frozen in time and minted as Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum, WAX, Polygon and Algorand blockchains.
RomanPunk characters are comprised of commoners and famous individuals based on Roman history, art history and pop culture.
The basis for RomanPunk lore and backstories is exhaustively researched by history/sci-fi buff and co-founder, Punktavian.
All images are drawn by hand by woman artist and co-founder, Cleopunktra, without the aid of AI or generative tools.
RomanPunks came into existence through early minting on OpenSea, promoting on Twitter and building a Discord community through giveaways and engagement. The idea of a cyberpunk-derivative ‘RomanPunk’ theme was in our heads for years, but it was the success of the Cryptopunks that became the catalyst for project conception and launch.
After a hard working first 60 days spent networking and attracting new collectors to RomanPunks, our community had begun to flourish and sales increased. We began to offer our collectors an opportunity to battle their NFTs in a tournament bracket powered by dice rolls.
Encouraged by the tight knit community and the carbon-neutral blockchain with lightning fast and low cost transactions, we launched 'romanpunksio' collection on WAX Blockchain as the first step to expand the backstories of our RomanPunk characters and the baseline for future development of a card game.
RomanPunks integrated with Chainlink Labs to utilize VRF (Verified Randomness Function) to host a giveaway raffle for our holders. We developed a smart contract on Ethereum which guarantees true random number selection on chain and can be used for a wide range of functions that require random selection.
After much anticipation in the community, we released our first WAX NFT card 'pack' through the Neftyblocks platform, which sold out in less than a week.
We launched our Twitch channel and begun building an audience by offering numerous giveaways of WAX NFTs from our collection, as well as giving participants a chance to win RomanPunk ETH NFT airdrops for taking top spot at the end of the 'season'.
As firm believers in a metaverse future and land owners in The Sandbox, we undertook to build the RomanPunk Colosseum on 1x1 land and entered our experience "Gladiator Bloodsport" into a GameJam contest. We will continue to build the Colosseum into a PVP arena and social hub once The Sandbox offers creators the ability to do so.
Thanks to the user friendly tools offered by NeftyBlocks, we launched a comprehensive blending system on WAX, allowing our collectors to blend the common NFTs they earn in our Discord RPG up into Legendary famous NFTs through the use of blending 'coins' that can also be earned on the Discord as reward for helping to promote the RomanPunks project.
We launched the VX collection on Polygon. Each owner of an ETH NFT gets their voxel equivalent airdropped to them, and these NFTs can be redeemed for official NFTs on The Sandbox Marketplace once available.
All 1,000 original, unique 1:1 RomanPunk characters hand drawn by Cleopunktra and minted on OpenSea.
The RomanPunk WAX NFT Trading Card Fighter Pack Series II consists of 3 NFTs randomly selected from over 236 characters.
Upcoming plans for RomanPunks include:
Below is a comprehensive and searchable directory of all 1,000 RomanPunk Characters.
ID#: 680/1000Name: Thora ThornNationality: VandalType: PatricianAvatar Rarity: CommonWAX Rarity: RareClass: CivilianAttack: N/ADefense: N/ASpeed: N/ATagline: “The heart clings on, despite the storm.” LORE Date of Birth:
Born 2169 AD in Saldae, Wulfric is a volatile, embittered veteran of the Dacian Vampire War where he lost an eye and both legs. His sharp wit and philosophical musings mask a deep-seated bitterness and mistrust of the system. Equipped with lousy, Empire-subsidized robotic prosthetics and suffering from severe battle fatigue, his pain is numbed by booze and drugs. Despite physical and emotional scars, Wulf becomes obsessively driven to seek justice for a murder his friend allegedly witnessed. Though his wife vehemently disapproves of his quest for vigilante justice, Wulf remains undeterred, using their suite at the Atlanta Hotel in Neo-Carthage as a base for his precarious operations.
Born 2171 AD in Eblana, Rian served as a ballistarius in the bloody and costly Dacian vampire war. His alcoholic patrician father gambled away their family fortune, so Rian became a drifter, working odd jobs including chariot salesman and part-time gigolo in Neo-Carthage. After witnessing a murder at the Atlanta Hotel, Rian reluctantly finds himself drawn into a plot to blackmail the culprit, where his desire to maintain a transient, low-responsibility lifestyle clashes with an emerging sense of justice and loyalty.
Born 2177 AD in Tridentum, Vayla, a server at an opulent hotel tiki bar in Neo-Carthage, is driven by grief and a fierce determination to seek justice for her murdered cyborg lover, Hecate Cybernius. Intelligent and resilient, Vayla becomes deeply involved in the investigation led by two vigilantes. Her resourcefulness, thirst for retribution and loyal Doberman, Ares, make her a crucial ally in the quest to expose the influential killer. Through her involvement in the plot, Vayla embodies the themes of loss, courage, and the relentless pursuit of truth in a dystopian world.
Born in 2169 AD in Syracusae, Zino was a logistics officer in Rome’s hellacious campaign against the Dacian vampire scourge. Now a pencil-necked attorney and accountant for the profligate Governor Mazar, Zino finds himself torn between helping his old comrades uncover the grisly murder of a cyborg pleasurebot and maintaining his precarious position in the baroque society of Neo-Carthage. The stakes are even higher as suspicions point towards his employer, forcing Zino to navigate a perilous path where loyalty and self-preservation are constantly at odds.
Born 2488 AD in Ancyra, Draven comes from a long line of notorious highfalutin slave traders. He uses advanced telescopic lenses to scout his victims interdimensionally, then dispatches time traffickers through a portal to kidnap them as slaves for his base entertainment empire of lewd karaoke clubs, casinos, and virtual brothels in 26th century AD Neo-Byzantium. Charismatic yet ruthless, Draven’s influence extends back to ancient Galatia, long a haven for the effete elite, including covert colonialist cyborgs.
Born 2423 AD in Atuatuca, Dovina is known for her fierce intelligence and rebellious spirit. In her early twenties, she entered the Miss Metaverse pageant, using the platform to advocate against sexual harassment. Dovina made headlines when she publicly accused a clone of Julius Caesar of groping her during the 2500-year anniversary of his victory in Gaul. This bold move sparked controversy, but her courage inspired a movement for justice and equality.
Born 2101 AD in Alexandria, Anubis is a street artist and tech scavenger who rebels against the Roman regime through his clever use of AR murals depicting the splendour of ancient Egypt. With his loyal cyborg dog Sobek by his side, Anubis fights for freedom while striving to preserve his heritage in a world overshadowed by Roman oppression. His art serves as a beacon of resistance.
Born 2020 AD in Neo-Volubilis, Cyp is a revolutionary soothsayer with the unique ability to peer into the future using a special telescopic lens. As his faithful poodle vigilantly stands guard, Cyp uses his powers of foresight to aid his revolutionary ally, a clone of Hannibal Barca. Yet, mindful of the warnings from Oedipus Rex, Hannibal remains suspicious of Cyp’s prophecies. Undeterred, Cyp continues to optimistically prophesize Hannibal’s inevitable triumph over the corrupt Roman occupiers in North Africa.
Born 345 AD in Nemausus, Equus was originally the stablemaster on a grand estate, enslaved from a young age. His life changed when Erana Veranix, the estate’s mistress, freed him after a Vandal invasion that cost them both their sight. Together in holy matrimony, they established the Institute for the Blind and Animal Rehabilitation, where Equus’s deep bond with animals and enduring spirit play a pivotal role in the sanctuary’s mission.
Born 333 AD in Nemausus, Erana transformed her estate into a beacon of hope following a devastating Vandal invasion that claimed her sight and her first husband. Alongside her second husband, former stablemaster and freed slave, she founded the Institute for the Blind and Animal Rehabilitation where those robbed of their vision walk the road to recovery by tending to orphaned and wounded animals.
Born 2112 AD in Neo-Galway, Lorc is a prominent spaceshipping magnate whose daughter was kidnapped by time traffickers and enslaved in the interdimensional metaverse. Now, Lorc spends countless hours plugged into the immersive darknet, financing a brigade of mercenary hackers and cyber investigators while forging a criminal empire of his own; all for the purpose of recovering his child and annihilating those responsible for the abduction.
Born 1720 BC in Babylon, Sarpana, granddaughter of the legendary Hammurabi, is a celebrated dimension-hopping performance artist. Regularly featured at Elektrosar, an interdimensional electronica festival in the Hanging Gardens, and at Club LIV in a post-cyberpunk 1970s AD Rome, Sarpana merges EDM, disco, funk and pole dancing to stun audiences through space and time.
Born 470 AD in Augusta Suessionum, Nebia served as a handmaid to Queen Clotilde before her life took a dramatic turn. Encountered by a stranger from another dimension, she was awakened to her telekinetic powers and recruited for a war against alien cyborg overlords. Now, from behind a terminal screen in the dimly lit chambers of a futuristic cave stronghold, she manipulates the simulacrum of her past existence.
Born 1915 AD in Flavia Solva within an atompunk alternate dimension under Roman global hegemony, Maccus is a criminologist working for the Empire to root out communist infiltrators, employing cybernetic torture techniques to extract confessions; meanwhile, he secretly engages in necrophilic reanimation experiments with the undead.
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